1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to anatomical support structures used during medical procedures and, more particularly, to devices for supporting and positioning portions of a patient's body when undergoing surgery or other therapeutic procedures.
2. Background and Description of the Prior Art
During certain operative and therapeutic medical procedures it is necessary to position the patient, or selected portions of the patient's body, in specific orientations to facilitate performing the procedure or to minimize discomfort or possible injury to the patient. For example, when positioning a patient for thoracic surgery such as a robotic heart surgery procedure, stability of the patient is critical and requires the patient to be positioned at a stable angle of approximately 30 degrees, usually with the patient's right side elevated with respect to his or her left side. In some cases it is also necessary to perform some manipulation of the patient's elevated shoulder to allow the robotic trocars to move freely. As is known in the medical arts, a trocar is a surgical instrument having a cutting end with a three-sided blade and enclosed within a cannula (a small tube). The trocar may be used for manipulating or cauterizing tissue, and removing tissue and fluids. In other cases, stable anatomical support is needed to position the patient in a comfortable position even though the patient is required to remain immobile for an extended period of time. In many thoracic and orthopedic procedures, for example, correct support is needed for the patient's back and legs, respectively. In still other circumstances, such as certain obstetric procedures, a patient must be positioned so as to avoid pressure on certain internal organs or other structures.
Heretofore, patients have been positioned for thoracic or orthopedic surgery using improvised devices such as air bags, intravenous (IV) fluid bags, rolled-up sheets, and the like. These devices have proved to be unreliable in practice. For example, the air bags and the IV fluid bags run the inherent risk of leakage or rupture during the procedure. Such failure can cause an abrupt change in the position or orientation of the patient with possible catastrophic results. Further, none of the above improvised devices provide correct anatomical support of both the lower back and the upper back as required when performing thoracic surgery procedures. Moreover, in order to correctly position the patient using improvised devices, operating room personnel must spend too much time adjusting and maneuvering these devices during the critical pre-incision period, increasing the risk to the anesthetized patient due to prolonging the anesthesia and to the uncertain stability. Such delays decrease the productivity for surgeons, anesthesiologists, other operating room personnel, and in some cases, support personnel. Another shortcoming of improvised devices is that pressure exerted by the devices may result in discomfort or injury because the pressure is not evenly distributed, is not properly located, or the device shifts position during the procedure. Further, when using improvised devices it is difficult to avoid pressure points that may cause burns when used with heating pads between the patient's body and the positioning device.
In an effort to overcome the deficiencies of improvised devices, a number of prior art pads, pillows, supports, positioners, etc. have been devised, some of them with specific shapes adapted to specific procedures. Such devices tend to be limited to specific uses for which they were constructed, requiring a number of variations to be inventoried or made available to satisfy a variety of conditions, in turn requiring substantial storage space and handling procedures. Others require the use of a plurality of devices in combinations to achieve the desired support, but have the disadvantage that the combination lacks the needed stability or is unable to maintain the correct anatomical support for long periods.
What is needed, therefore, is a device that optimizes the shape requirements of thoracic, abdominal, and orthopedic procedures with a single anatomical support device, is readily adaptable or configurable to minor variations in patient's bodies or medical procedures, and reliably provides the stability needed during critical robotic procedures and other operative and therapeutic procedures.